A Quick Bite (Argeneau #1) in SOS: Serious Overload of Series

May 30, 2009 Dina rated it it was ok

Shelves: paranormal-romance

This story is marketed as being funny, light and cute. I prefer my PNR books to be on the dark and dangerous side, but I needed to read a "Q" book to finish the RRRC's A-Z Book Challenge and A Quick Bite was the only one I had on my TBR - for years, I might add - so I decided to finally give it a chance.

Lissianna Argeneau is a 202-year-old vampire who happens to be, gasp!, hemaphobic. That's not a good thing considering what she is. Concerned about her future, her mother Marguerite decides to gi This story is marketed as being funny, light and cute. I prefer my PNR books to be on the dark and dangerous side, but I needed to read a "Q" book to finish the RRRC's A-Z Book Challenge and A Quick Bite was the only one I had on my TBR - for years, I might add - so I decided to finally give it a chance.

Lissianna Argeneau is a 202-year-old vampire who happens to be, gasp!, hemaphobic. That's not a good thing considering what she is. Concerned about her future, her mother Marguerite decides to give Lissi "the best birthday gift ever": Dr. Greg Hewitt, a 35-year-old psychologist who specializes in phobias. Marguerite is sure he'll be able to cure Lissi's phobia so she can leave a "normal" vampire life.

From the awkward moment they meet, Greg and Lissi feel attracted to each other, but nothing good can come out of it because (1) she's a vampire, (2) he's a mere mortal and (3) he'll have his memory erased as soon as he cures her phobia. Naturally, nothing goes according to Marguerite's plan, and Greg and Lissi find themselves running for their lives. But who's after them? Her wacky family? An unsuspected vampire hunter?

That wasn't a bad setup, but I'm afraid Ms. Sands didn't make it work for me. I didn't laugh at any of the attempted jokes, I hated Lissi's silly cousins (to the point that I lost track of who was who), I didn't care for the numerous one-dimensional secondary characters and I didn't feel any sexual chemistry between Greg and Lissi. They were both nice enough - well, they weren't annoying - but I didn't feel any love between them. They had a strong connection, I grant you that, but it only veered into the friendship zone - at least, that's how I felt.

Simply put, there was no character development in this book. Lissi was unbelievably imature for her age. I don't care if she was considered extremely young in vampire years. Come on, she was 202 years old! She should have been way wiser than she was. I just don't get it. Unless... Do vampire brains develop at a slower rate than mere mortals'? Does vampire blood affect their learning curve so bad that 200-year-old vampires act and talk like teenagers? *groans*

Greg was another "problem", as I couldn't understand his actions. He was kidnapped, tied up and left without food or water for hours, and took it all in stride. Sure, he had a hissy fit at first, but then calmed down and became the most complacent kidnapped victim of all times. Puh-lease! And when he found out that those deranged people who had kidnapped him were vampires, did he freak out? Of course not! He simply sat down with Lissi - actually, he was tied up to the bed, but at that point, he couldn't care less - and listened attentively while she recited History of the Vampires: Origin & Evolution. Gah!

To be fair, I thought the explanation for the origin of the vampires devised by Ms. Sands was unexpected and interesting, but I didn't like the way she explored that concept. When all was said and done, I got the feeling that the Argeneau vampires were just like any regular mortal human with a few enhanced characteristics to make them different. For a PNR, this book was the most un-PNR I've ever read.

So, as you might have guessed by now, I didn't like this book. It had some good parts - mainly when Greg and Lissi were on their own and away from her wacky family - but those few and far in between moments weren't enough to make up for everything else. Overall, this was a very disappointing read to me.
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Apr 06, 2009 Adele rated it really liked it

yet another twist on the origins of vampires. humans injected with nanite in Atlantis..seems far fetched doesn't it? well don't stress it does actually make sense and its all explained a hell of a lot better than I can do in my review.

lissi is one of these vampires. born a vamp,things happened to make her heamahobic... that's right (I may not have spelled it right) but she has a blood phobia.
vampires need blood to live and she faints at the sight of blood. these vampires take their blood from b ...more

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Jan 07, 2010 Jamie ~ Bad Boy Inspector rated it really liked it

Shelves: genre-paranormal-romance, plot-funny, read-2012

3.5/5 Pretty good read. I liked the side characters more though!!

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Feb 28, 2010 Nairabell rated it it was amazing

Shelves: paranormal-romance, 5-star, favorites, read-in-2012

Lissianna Argeneau suffers from hemaphobia and faints at the sight of blood, which wouldn't be such a problem if she wasn't a vampire. Given the new protocol of feeding from blood bags, Lissianna is treading a dangerous path between starvation and feeding off the wrong people. So as a birthday gift her mother kidnaps Dr. Gregory Hewitt, a phobia expert, in hopes of curing Lissianna...but given their growing attraction Greg may not be the most appropriate doctor for her daughter.

This is the first Lissianna Argeneau suffers from hemaphobia and faints at the sight of blood, which wouldn't be such a problem if she wasn't a vampire. Given the new protocol of feeding from blood bags, Lissianna is treading a dangerous path between starvation and feeding off the wrong people. So as a birthday gift her mother kidnaps Dr. Gregory Hewitt, a phobia expert, in hopes of curing Lissianna...but given their growing attraction Greg may not be the most appropriate doctor for her daughter.

This is the first book in the Argeneau/Rogue Hunter series (although it wasn't the first to be published as the first four were published in the wrong order) which is a favourite of mine. These are really fun light paranormal romances that blend funny moments and romantic moments with a clever and unique backstory. In this series vampirism is caused by biological nanotechnology passed down from Atlantis, and this premise definitely makes them stand out from the crowd.

This story focuses on Lissianna, the youngest Argeneau (at only 202) and a human psychologist Greg. The story is well paced, getting started with a bang with Greg's abuduction and staying at a relatively fast pace throughout. The romance is sweet and develops well, with both characters being open from the start. The backstory is also well written with explanations for everything (which would be conspicuous if absent given the psychologist main character). There isn't any info-dumping and, other than introducing a relatively large cast of characters, this doesn't suffer to much for being the first book in the series. While the romance is the main storyline, there is also a mystery in the background that threatens Lissianna's life which adds a new level of tension.

Lissianna is really sweet and caring breaking the mould from the usual vampire vixen while Greg is incredibly accepting, especially given he starts off kidnapped and tied to a bed by Marguerite. Marguerite is every part the scheming matriarch, finding a way to play every situation to her benefit. My favourite character though has to be Thomas, Lissiana's cousin. He is hilarious but also protective of his cousin.

All in all this was a fun read and I'm looking forward to Love Bites.

Plot: 9/10
Characters: 10/10
Ending: 10/10
Enjoyment: 10/10
Cover: 8/10

Overall: 47/50 ...more

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May 02, 2012 Rachel Willis rated it liked it

Shelves: vampire

This was an alright read. I like the idea behind the book (vamps evolved from Atlantis) and the sex scenes were well written. But the vernacular turned me off at points (I've never heard a man under 50 refer to a group of women as 'gals') and I found myself skimming more than once. Also, I don't know how a person could get to be 200 and still be so very naive.

Honestly, that just grates my berries. I find it particularly stupid when it is claimed in books that a person is simultaneously knock-yo ...more

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